Drama and Disappointment

So last night was the potential final game of the 2008 World Series. It was not the final game. It was the first 2/3 of the final game.

It rained the entire game. It was cold and windy. It was not a night for the boys of Summer.

The Phillies (my heros) got off to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Rays got one run somewhere around the 3rd or 4th I don't know because I was driving home and there is NO radio in Atlanta broadcasting the World Series.

The grounds crew came out several times to check the status of the infield and the pitcher's mound. They made it to the 6th inning with the Rays up to bat. They got a runner on 1st and he stole 2nd. Another batter got a base hit and the runner scored from 2nd (he's very fast even with the sloppy field conditions), so we then had a game tied at 2-2.

The umpires were the ones responsible for the game status, play, delay, suspend.

With the game tied and the Commissioner of Major League Baseball in attendance they called for a suspension of play and the tarps were brought out to cover the infield.

No more baseball was played last night. The game will resume, if possible, tonight at 8pm. The weather is not supposed to be good. The game time calls for 50% chance of rain, high winds, and temperatures around 40 degrees with a wind chill of 29.

If the umpires had suspended play as much as 5 minutes earlier, the game would have been officially over, having played more than half the game, with the Phillies in the lead 2-1, they would have won and the World Series title would have been theirs.

It's a tough situation for a fan like me because I would like to see the Phillies be the World Series Champs, but not by winning a final game that was called off short of 9 innings due to weather. I don't think it has ever happened in the past and it would give the 2008 World Series an asterisk feeling when it goes in the record books.

So we are faced with a poor forecast for the weather tonight, but I am hopeful for the clean Phillies win. If they lose, they have to travel to Tampa and win one of two games to be held down there. I would almost like to see that now because I have to work tonight and would miss the end of the series if the Phillies win.